This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Biden-Harris regime already has faced epic levels of criticism for being out of touch regarding the damage and death inflicted on North Carolina and several other states from Hurricane Helene, which cost some 200 lives and billions in damages.
After all, Joe Biden was lounging on a beach when the storm crashed into America and Harris was fully occupied – with fundraising events so that her campaign would have more cash.
"First, there was Joe Biden's comments at the White House briefing on Friday, bragging about 'jobs numbers' yet saying virtually nothing about Helene. There was Secretary of State Antony Blinken posting about the humanitarian need … in Lebanon and giving them $157 million. Not to mention Samantha Power saying how they were providing Ukraine with transformers to help keep the power on there when so many are still without power in storm-affected areas here in this country," the report explained.
But, the report noted, the chorus wouldn't be "complete" without Harris' agenda, "and she came through with her own comments about money being given to Lebanon."
Actor James Wood credited her with establishing "the gold standard of stupid."
The report explained, "Kamala's post then went viral and got more than 11 million views, with virtually all the people ratioing her into next week. Many asked how was this real, how could anyone vote for this? Some asked if she was trying to lose. Many told her to 'read the room.' So many still don't have power in the storm-affected areas, and there's still so much to deal with."
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, suggested the funding would be for Lebanon, North Carolina? And Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wondered about an explanation for "giving money to a country overrun by Iranian-backed terrorists."
The messaging must have gotten through. Shortly later, Harris was back to social media to explain:
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
One of the two partisans who were assigned by CBS to moderate this week's vice presidential debate between GOP candidate JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz is accused of committing "unethical journalistic malpractice."
The moderators, Nora O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan, both previously had expressed criticism of President Donald Trump.
Despite this, the network made them the debate moderators, asking questions that would tend to help Walz, and emphasizing Democrat agenda points such as climate change, about which only a few Americans have high concerns.
After Vance detailed how President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris "brought in millions of illegal immigrants," some of whom are overwhelming schools and hospitals and driving up housing prices, Brennan jumped in to editorialize, asserting, "Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio, does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status — temporary protected status."
Vance responded, "Margaret, the rules were that you guys weren't going to fact-check, and since you're fact-checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on." He then gave a detailed and accurate explanation of how Biden and Harris created a smartphone app called the CBP One app that lets illegal immigrants fly into the United States and receive temporary "parole" status that expires in two years.
"That is the facilitation of illegal immigration, Margaret," Vance explained, "by our own leadership. And Kamala Harris opened up that pathway." Instead of allowing Walz to respond, Brennan cut Vance's microphone and moved on to the next question.
This was unethical journalistic malpractice. She falsely or misleadingly fact-checked the Republican's comments and then, instead of facilitating a proper airing of the issue, silenced the candidate who was making them and the Democrat look ignorant and dishonest.
Vance was right. The Biden-Harris administration has abused parole authority to create a shadow system alongside the congressionally approved legal system. There is nothing in statute that gives a president power to mass-parole 30,000 immigrants a month into the U.S.
The editorial pointed out that Brennan and O'Donnell, in fact, failed to follow the rules that had been set up for the debate.
"And Vance made them pay," the commentary said. "In the process, he exposed how the Biden-Harris administration is purposefully dismantling the dividing line between legal and illegal immigration."
In fact, the publication documented, "The parole statute allows parole only for 'urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit,' and only on a case-by-case basis, and it prescribes that 'when the purposes of such parole shall have been served,' the immigrant shall be returned to custody for deportation. So an immigrant suffering from dehydration could be paroled into the country for medical care, for example, but after treatment should be dealt with like any other illegal immigrant."
That limited application, the Examiner warned, "was never intended to be a new 'legal pathway' as Biden and Harris have made it."
"Should the executive branch abuse humanitarian protections in the immigration code to create a parallel quasi-legal system to import millions of otherwise illegal immigrants into the country every year, overwhelming schools and hospitals and driving up the price of housing? Of course not. But that is what Biden and Harris have done. According to all polls, the public is tired of it."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Democrats in America already have established themselves as the "party of violence."
They've repeatedly called GOP nominee President Donald Trump a "Hitler" and called for him to be destroyed, put in a bull's-eye, and "extinguished."
The violent rhetoric may have contributed to two recent assassination attempts against Trump, and other threats to his life.
Now that reputation as a "party of violence" is being reaffirmed, with a report that Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, allegedly "forcefully slapped" an "ex-girlfriend for flirting with another man."
It is the Gateway Pundit that reported: "Party of Violence: Kamala Harris's Husband Doug Emhoff Accused of Assaulting His Ex-Girlfriend After a Film Festival, Leaving Her Sobbing in a Cab."
The Daily Mail detailed that "three friends" have confirmed to the publication Emhoff "assaulted his ex-girlfriend."
"The Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, 59, allegedly struck the woman in the face so hard she spun around, while waiting in a valet line late at night after a May 2012 Cannes Film Festival event in France," the report said. "One of her friends told DailyMail.com that the woman called him immediately after the incident, sobbing in her cab, and described the alleged assault."
The reports come just weeks before voters in America will decide whether to leave the White House in Kamala Harris' hands for the next four years, to continue Joe Biden's inflation, which has totaled more than 21% since he and Harris took office, the weakening of America's foreign agenda, and the all-out advocacy for transgenderism and abortion for all.
The DailyMail.com said it was not identifying the woman, "Jane," "a successful New York attorney."
The report said the three "friends" all explained that "Jane" had told them of the violence.
"The friends, who all asked not to be named for fear of retaliation by Emhoff, shared with DailyMail.com pictures of him and Jane together from 2012, and other documents and communications corroborating elements of the story."
The allegations are in shocking conflict with the image, pushed by the Harris campaign, of Emhoff as "benevolent" and "an ally to" women.
"Jane," contacted by the Daily Mail, declined comment.
The publication, however, earlier had reported "that Emhoff cheated on his first wife and mother of his two kids around 2008, allegedly impregnating his daughter's nanny who also worked as her grade school teacher."
Emhoff admitted to that situation.
The publication documented, "In a fawning interview on Sunday, MSNBC host and former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki told Emhoff that he 'reshaped the perception of masculinity' – despite his admitted affair with his daughter's nanny and teacher."
Jane told her friends she got tickets to the gala event in France, and took Emhoff.
A New York businessman told the publication of a call from Jane.
"It was hard to hear her because she was sobbing. She told me she was with a guy and he hit her. It was very clear what she was telling me. She said she was with a guy, her date, she was at the Cannes Film Festival, and he hit her. She was in the car with the guy at the time. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know whether to call the French police. I couldn't get a hold of her after calling back."
The incident was from 12 years ago, before Emhoff met and married Harris.
The businessman described what he was told: "It was something like 3 am. They were trying to get out of there and they both had been drinking. There was a gigantic line for taxis. [Jane] went up to one of the valet guys, offered him 100 Euros or whatever, to get to the head of the line. She told me she put her hand on his shoulder. Doug apparently thought that she was flirting, and came over and slapped her in the face."
Jane reported the incident caused a break between the duo.
A second account said Jane wanted to leave Emhoff behind at the cab stand, but he "forced himself into the car, which she did not want."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Colorado was taken over by liberals through a political coup a good number of years ago. Leftists with hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank strategically donated to key state legislative races to defeat conservatives, and the result now is a legislature dominated by Democrats and other extremists.
The results were predictable: State and local boards have followed suit, and the state now has a defined agenda to attack Christians and their faith, what with formal state bureaucrats' attacks on a baker who refused to promote same-sex marriages and a web designer who did the same.
The state lost both of those fights, incidentally, at the Supreme Court, which scolded the far-left enclave in the Rocky Mountains for its official bigotry against Christianity.
But the state now has a homosexual multimillionaire governor, Jared Polis, who scooped buckets of cash from the internet when the medium was new, and a far-left secretary of state, Jena Griswold, who tried to throw the GOP's nominee for president this year, President Donald Trump, off the ballot because of her own opinions about him.
The latest battle now comes through the actions of a like-minded local board, a school board in Jefferson County, which encompasses suburbs just to the west of Denver.
There, its officials have decided to require students to share, on school trips, rooms, beds and showers and more with classmates of the opposite sex.
The ADF has brought a legal fight now to the district and lawyer Kate Anderson explained, "Parents, not the government, have the right and duty to direct the upbringing and education of their children, and that includes making decisions to protect their child's privacy."
She said, "JeffCo currently asks students who identify as transgender to choose, with their parents, whether they will share accommodations with students of the same or opposite sex. This is done confidentially, without divulging the private information of any other student. Yet JeffCo rooms all other children based on gender identity without giving those students or their parents the same information or choice."
She explained, "That policy violates parents' right to direct their children's care and protect their privacy. It violates students' rights to bodily privacy. And it threatens the religious freedom of parents and students alike. JeffCo must provide parents with the information they need to make the best decisions for their children. We urge the court to grant our clients' reasonable request for equal treatment and protect their constitutional freedoms as this case continues in the courts."
The results in court, of course, often are unpredictable, and especially so in Colorado where the judiciary has fought multiple corruption scandals in recent years.
The new case is on behalf of three families asking the court to stop Jefferson County Public Schools from requiring their children to share beds, bedrooms, and shower facilities with students of the opposites sex on school-sponsored overnight trips.
The school imposes those requirements on students with no advance notice, or alternatives.
In fact, the Jefferson County schools demand that students be assigned roommates on school trips based on "gender identity."
The current motion pending in the Wailes v. Jefferson County Public Schools case, in federal court in Colorado, is a request that the court instruct the district to stop the schools from requiring "children …. share beds, bedrooms, and shower facilities with students of the opposite sex."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
John Kerry, the onetime Democrat party chieftain who served as Joe Biden's climate spokesman, jetting around the world in carbon fuel-belching jets to accept awards and such, has said the quiet part out loud.
Regarding the nation's First Amendment, that critical protection guarding the rights of individuals from shore to shore.
He wants it changed. And all because it gets in the way of what information he doesn't like, and thinks should be censored.
"The dislike of and anguish over social media is just growing and growing. It is part of our problem, particularly in democracies, in terms of building consensus around any issue. It's really hard to govern today. You can't – the referees we used to have to determine what is a fact and what isn't a fact have kind of been eviscerated, to a certain degree. And people go and self select where they go for their news, for their information. And then you get into a vicious cycle.
So it is really hard, much harder to build consensus today than at any time in the 40-50 years I've been involved in this.
You know there's a lot of discussion now about how you curb those entities in order to guarantee that you're going to have some accountability on facts, etc.
But look, if people only go to one source, and the source they go to is sick, and, you know, has an agenda and they're putting out disinformation, our First Amendment stands as a major block to be able to just, you know, hammer it out of existence.
So what we need is to win the ground, win the right to govern, by hopefully winning enough votes that you're free to be able to implement change."
Real Clear Politics explained his comments came at a World Economic Forum meeting.
"Near the end of the panel, a member of the audience asked what can be done to push back against disinformation surrounding climate change online," the report said.
Democrats and other leftists in American for years already have been insisting that ideas with which they disagree must be suppressed. They call it misinformation, or disinformation, or malinformation, but essentially it's just differing opinions.
But such an agenda also has moved far into the active manipulation of elections. Dozens of so-called national security veterans during the 2020 election insisted that the accurate, and devastatingly bad, details contained about the Biden family operations in Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop were Russian disinformation.
They weaponized the federal government to tell social media and other companies to suppress it.
The laptop scandals proved to be completely accurate, but the suppression agenda run by federal agencies and others probably, a later polling revealed, cost President Donald Trump his re-election bid at the time.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Al Smith Dinner is an event organized by the Catholic archbishop of New York every four years, and is a white-tie gala that raises money for Catholic charities.
It traditionally includes both presidential candidates for a night of "lighthearted roasting" and "camaraderie."
In some 40 years, only one candidate has refused to participate: Walter Mondale, he of the campaign that lost 49 states.
Harris' team told planners she will be busy campaigning when the event is held October 17.
A report at Fox News said President Donald Trump has confirmed his attendance.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, expressed disappointment in Harris' decision, noting it's been 40 years since such a refusal happened.
"We were looking forward to giving the vice president an enthusiastic welcome and we were confident that she would find this, you know, she speaks very much about high ideals and how it's good to get away from division and come together in unity and all. That's what the Al Smith dinner is all about," he said, in the report.
The traditional began when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon both attended the event in 1960.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A former CIA officer was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for his role in dozens of sexual attacks against women over the course of 14 years.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 48, of La Mesa, California, was on assignment in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, when a woman was seen nude and screaming for help from his balcony in May of 2020.
The woman reported to authorities that she had no recollection of events after she was provided food and drink by Raymond. A subsequent investigation revealed Raymond had hundreds of photographs and videos of over 25 women he had drugged and sexually abused while they were unconscious and unable to consent.
After learning of the investigation into his conduct, the DOJ stated Raymond attempted to delete explicit photographs and videos which depicted Raymond manipulating and touching the victims after he had drugged them. In total, Raymond admitted to drugging over 30 women between 2006 and 2020.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said in a statement Raymond's prosecution shows a commitment by the Justice Department to bring criminals to justice – no matter who they are.
"Brian Raymond sexually exploited dozens of women over the course of 14 years, including while he served abroad as a U.S. government employee. Today's sentence underscores the Criminal Division's commitment to prosecuting sexual abuse in violation of federal law – no matter where those violations occur or who commits them. We are grateful for the valuable partnership we have with the Mexican government and will continue to work with our domestic and international partners to pursue justice for victims of sexual exploitation," Argentieri said.
In November 2023, Raymond plead guilty to one count of sexual abuse, one count of abusive sexual contact, one count of coercion and enticement, and one count of transporting obscene material. As part of a plea deal, Raymond admitted to drugging and engaging in non-consensual sex with six women, and admitted he had touched the breasts, buttocks, groin area and/or genitalia of numerous women while they were unable to consent.
Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office, said the crimes committed by Raymond were reprehensible.
"For 14 years, Raymond exploited his trusted position as a U.S. government representative to lure women into his confidence. He then drugged and sexually assaulted them and took explicit photos and videos of them without their consent. The FBI thanks the brave women who shared information that furthered this investigation. We recognize our domestic and foreign law enforcement partners who helped bring Raymond to justice for his reprehensible crimes," Sundberg said.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. Senior Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly imposed the full 30-year sentence requested by prosecutors.
"It's safe to say he's a sexual predator…You are going to have a period of time to think about this," Kollar-Kotelly said.
Some of the victims were unaware they had been sexually assaulted until the FBI had made contact with them.
"My body looks like a corpse on his bed…Now I have these nightmares of seeing myself dead," one victim said of the photographs. Another victim claimed she had suffered a nervous breakdown after Raymond's crimes against her were exposed.
Raymond said in a statement during his sentencing that he was in a "downward spiral," and has spent hours thinking about his crimes, the report said.
"It betrayed everything I stand for and I know no apology will ever be enough…There are no words to describe how sorry I am. That's not who I am and yet it's who I became," Raymond said.
The DOJ has been under fire from many quarters in recent years for the appearance it has been weaponized against President Donald Trump.
The problem has gone so far that Attorney General Merrick Garland recently publicly claimed that the department is non-partisan and does not make decisions based on politics.
However, it charged President Trump with felonies over possession of government documents after he left office, but gave Joe Biden a pass for boxes and boxes of government secrets he had stashed in an unsecured garage.
Further, the DOJ has weaponized itself by claiming that Trump committed crimes with his statements challenging the accuracy of the 2020 presidential election ballot count, when Hillary Clinton's multiple claims that the election was "stolen" from her have not drawn DOJ criticism.
Even further back was the DOJ's work, based on political documents assembled by the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016, to make wild claims about the Trump campaign colluding with Russia, which in fact did not happen.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – After another extraordinary day in the Middle East, in which all manner of electronic devices – including walkie-talkies and radios – exploded in the hands of Hezbollah terrorists and Islamic Republic Guard Corps operatives in Lebanon, there are still a number of unanswered questions.
Unconfirmed reports earlier Wednesday put the number of IRGC operatives killed in these explosions at 19, with some 150 more wounded.
If this is indeed an Israeli Mossad operation (which certainly seems the most likely), what – other than immediate expedience – is the purpose of this operation, and is it a prelude to a full-scale war to push Hezbollah back away from Israel's border with Lebanon?
It might be useful to deal with the issue of expedience, because it may help with both the timeline and the rationale behind this ingenious offensive. Reports surfaced Wednesday that Israel was somewhat forced into the action it has presumably taken over the last 30 hours or so, because the mission was in danger of being compromised. Let's be clear, the lead-time for such an operation is at least in the several month time-frame, perhaps even up to a year.
It was feared some Hezbollah operatives were aware the batteries in their pagers were heating up unusually, and they began to report it to higher-ups. Israel, fearing an operation which had been the result of significant investment in time and extensive effort, was simply forced into a situation where they had to "use it or lose it."
This brings us to a follow-up question of whether this action was intended to be immediately followed by airstrikes and a potential invasion of Lebanon to push Hezbollah away from the border fence, and at least as far as the Litani River.
In an important side note, one of the key facets of U.N. Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, was the fact the area south of the Litani River was supposed to be a demilitarized zone, policed by United Nations International Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, peacekeepers. This has not happened, with Hezbollah enjoying free reign in its southern Lebanon stronghold.
A clue as to whether or not the cyber attack was intended to be a constituent part of a much broader campaign can be extrapolated from what political and military leaders have been saying over the last few days.
He also affirmed Israel's determination to return the tens of thousands of internally displaced citizens from the north back to their homes. A day earlier, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the situation on Israel's border "cannot continue," adding "a change in the balance of forces on our northern border" was required.
Last week, former war cabinet member Benny Gantz, a political opponent and rival of Netanyahu's exclaimed Israel must shift its focus from the fighting in the south against Hamas in Gaza to the northern arena and deal with the Hezbollah threat. Tangible evidence of the pivot away from Gaza to Lebanon can be seen in the deployment of the IDF's 98th division near to the border, in the event the tensions with Hezbollah boil over.
Also from a strategic point of view – albeit Israel's strongest suit seems to be in the realm of the tactical – what was the ultimate goal of these operations, if they were not intended to be used in conjunction with military strikes to attack the Islamist enemy while they were down, hurting, and discombobulated?
Will Israel reap the whirlwind?
It's a truism Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, will not take this abject humiliation lying down. We should also recall, Iran has not officially taken revenge for an earlier indignity, namely the elimination of Hamas' chief political operator Ismail Haniyeh at an IRGC-run complex at the end of July.
Indeed, Hezbollah fired a number of rockets at Israel, and in the early hours of the morning, a drone, whose starting point was tracked from Iraq was shot toward Tiberias on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, causing incoming rocket alert sirens to blare.
There can be no doubt Iran and its proxies will want to exact heavy retribution for these attacks, although for organizations who crave discipline and order, these attacks have sown dysfunction and chaos. While it is not clear how senior the people who were allegedly killed and wounded are, one must assume there is an urgent assessment taking place – up to and including the Islamic Republic's government in Tehran – as to just how deep the infiltration runs.
Iran will desperately wish to retaliate, but the urgency with which it would want to do this will likely be tempered by just not being sure who can be trusted at the moment.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – Reports began to emerge Tuesday afternoon local time of an alleged event, which seems drawn directly from the pages of a spy novel, or the screen of an action movie, in which – according to earliest estimates – possibly up to 1,800 Hezbollah operatives throughout Lebanon – and potentially also in Damascus – were wounded when their pagers simultaneously exploded.
It is difficult to ascertain precise facts as rumors continue to swirl around the internet. What does seem clear is according to reports published on Reuters, more than 1,000 pagers exploded, with some Hezbollah operatives claiming they felt the devices warming up before they exploded. Footage of the explosions seems to show a mass communication sent to the pagers, as the recipients – except for those who noticed the warming and tossed the devices away – looked down to inspect them in the belief they'd received a message.
According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was one of those wounded in the synchronized explosions. As a result of the attack, which has immediately been blamed on Israel, but for which it has not taken responsibility, Hezbollah terrorists have been ordered to discard their pagers – which were brand new models and were only received in the last few months.
One of the ironies of this attack is that the Iranian proxy group began using pagers and couriers as they were viewed as more secure, less traceable than cell phones, and presumably less likely to be hacked by Israel. Or so the thinking went. Unconfirmed reports allege Hezbollah's wired and wireless communication network was also taken out, leaving it blind – much like Israel was on Oct. 7.
Reports on Twitter suggest sirens can still be heard all across Beirut, amid a constant stream of ambulances arriving at the city's American University Hospital.
This incident occurred on the day it was revealed the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) foiled an alleged Hezbollah plot to assassinate a former top Israeli security official, by killing him with a remotely detonated bomb. There is no suggestion yet that the exploding pagers are retaliation for this scheme, for one, it would appear an alleged Israeli operation of this magnitude would need to have been in the pipeline for some time.
The Times of Israel reports: "Lebanon's health ministry denies the widespread reports that the death toll in the country from the Hezbollah pager explosions has risen to 11 and some 4,000 have been injured, lowering the tallies to those that were previously given by the ministry.
"The confirmed death toll is thus 9, and the tally of injured is 2,750."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
As more and more information comes out about the apparent assassination attempt against President Donald Trump on Sunday, and the arrest of a suspect, Americans will need to watch that the reporting they read aligns with the facts.
That's after Time magazine claimed that the suspect had an "unclear political ideology," even as images of a Biden-Harris bumper sticker on his truck were available.
The suspect was identified as Ryan Routh, 58, with a criminal record and a history of praising Iran and lobbying for fighters for Ukraine.
After Time's statement regarding his "unclear political ideology," readers on social media delivered the facts: "Routh recently voted in person during the state's Democratic Party primary in March 2024. He also donated to Act Blue in 2019, and 2020 (a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates):"
At the Gateway Pundit was the comment, "Yesterday afternoon, as President Trump was playing the 5th hole on his golf course in West Palm Beach, FL, he was tackled by US Secret Service agents who were protecting him from the alleged would-be-assassin Ryan Wesley Routh. It didn't take long for internet sleuths to get out ahead of the intelligence agencies and the big tech censorship machine who quickly removed any trace of the incredible history of Ryan Wesley Routh, a Democrat donor and, according to the bumper sticker on his vehicle, a Biden-Harris supporter. Donald Trump Jr. shared the image of the would-be assassin's truck parked in front of his home with the caption: That's an Interesting bumper sticker on Ryan Wesley Routh's truck."